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Help - 7 month old and drying up!

This is my first post. I have ready through a number of your posts and you seem like a great group of ladies....hope you can help!

I have 2 girls. The first is 3.5 (nursed her for 14 months) and the second is 7 months. I work FT and travel a ton for work (some international travel). Until last week, I managed to give my LO only breastmilk through a combination of nursing, pumping (not an easy feat when I travel internationally and have to go with coolers, ice packs, power adapters for my pump, etc....).

Last week, I had to travel to Asia and was in a place that I didn't trust the cleanliness of the water to wash my pump parts (and the travel was about 30 hours each way, so I didn't think i could safely get my milk home.) So I pumped and dumped....and my little one had to have some formula (half/half bottles) while i was away. During the week, I could tell my supply was dropping and, now that I am home, I am pumping less than half the daily volume as I was 2 weeks ago!!!! What do i do? I do NOT want to stop nursing/pumping.

I am drinking a ton of water, eating oatmeal, taking Fenugreek, letting my LO nurse a ton (or pumping every 2-3 hours). I know there are other tips to get my supply back up....so I am all ears!!

Re: Help - 7 month old and drying up!

You have the bases covered. That is how you bring supply up by increasing demand.

But...I'm wondering why your supply has gone down while you were out of the country. And I have a few thoughts:
1. is your pump OK? If you used it for your first baby, it may be wearing out if you are pumping often at work. A professional grade pump has a lifespan of about 400 hours.
2. have you recently changed the membranes and other changeable parts on it?
3. power supply. Were your power adapters correct?

Re: Help - 7 month old and drying up!

with the PP. The only other potential suspect I have for your decrease in supply is contraception- if you just started a new form of hormonal birth control, that could be putting the kibosh on your supply. Even forms of hormonal contraception that many docs will swear are safe for breastfeeding- like the Mirena IUD or the progestin-only mini-pill- can have negative impact on supply for some moms.

ETA: you might find something helpful in this link: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/p..._decrease.html. The more often you pump, the better- and the better your pump, the better. If you can rent a hospital-grade pump for a while, that might help you over this hump.